Educational Studies - Literacies, Art, Cultural Production (Ph.D.)
Offered by: Integrated Studies in Ed (Faculty of Education)
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Program Description
The Ph.D. in Educational Studies; Literacies, Art, Cultural Production focuses on the study of literacies, art, and cultural production as social practices in diverse cultural histories, languages, and multimodal symbolic systems to create texts and meaning. Topics include institutional and out-of-school literacies such as oracy, community literacy, land-based literacies, intertextuality, critical digital and media literacy, multimodal reading and writing, and multilingual text production. The topic and research areas of the dissertation must be related to literacy, art and cultural production.
Required Courses (11 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 520 | Meanings of Literacy. | 3 |
Meanings of Literacy. Terms offered: Fall 2026 Introduction to literacies, arts, and cultural production as social practices in which to draw on diverse cultural histories, languages, and multimodal systems to create texts and meaning. | ||
| EDEC 700 | Proseminar in Education 1. | 2 |
Proseminar in Education 1. Terms offered: Fall 2026 Students will be exposed to a wide range of educational theory and research as faculty members present the theoretical underpinnings, methodologies, and applications of their various programs of research. | ||
| EDEC 701 | Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. | 0 |
Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. Terms offered: Summer 2026 Comprehensive examination. | ||
| EDEC 702 | Proseminar in Education 2. | 2 |
Proseminar in Education 2. Terms offered: Winter 2027 First-year doctoral students will be exposed to more advanced level of educational theory and research to experience the multidisciplinary nature of educational inquiry. | ||
| EDEC 703 | Ph.D. Colloquium. | 4 |
Ph.D. Colloquium. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Second-year doctoral students will have formal and informal opportunities to present their work for critical discussion and dialogue. Students will also discuss fundamental issues and questions in the field of education. | ||
Complementary Courses (6 credits)
3 credits from the following, or 3 credits of another courses at the 500 level or higher, with the permission and prior written approval of the Graduate Program Coordinator.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEA 655 | Arts-Based Educational Research. | 3 |
Arts-Based Educational Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Forms of thinking and portraying that emanate from the arts: music, dance, drama, visual art, poetry, which provide an aesthetically-oriented lens from which to examine perspectives and premises that influence educational practice, and to develop processes that use one or more of the arts. | ||
| EDEC 606 | Self-Study, Autoethnography, and Autobiographical Research . | 3 |
Self-Study, Autoethnography, and Autobiographical Research . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical and ethical engagement with the relationship between self and other through various auto/biographical approaches to research in education, such as self-study, autoethnography, currere, life writing, artistic practices, writing the self, and memory-work. Exploration of various forms of writing, representation, analysis and critical discussion | ||
| EDEC 630 | Ethnographic Approaches to Research . | 3 |
Ethnographic Approaches to Research . Terms offered: Winter 2027 Ethnography as a qualitative research approach that allows researchers to conduct in-depth studies of complex social and cultural practices. Hands-on experience in ethnographic field work and practice ethnographic research methods are offered. Focus on history and application of a range of ethnographic approaches including traditional, critical, visual, activist, institutional, and collaborative ethnography. | ||
| EDEM 688 | Critical and Participatory Research Methods . | 3 |
Critical and Participatory Research Methods . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of several critical and participatory research methodologies (such as Black radical, feminist and activist ethnography) to understand their implications for study methods (framing research questions, data collection and analysis). | ||
3 credits from the following, or 3 credits of another courses at the 500 level or higher, with the permission and prior written approval of the Graduate Program Coordinator.
Credits for one requirement may not be used to fill other requirements.
Arts:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEA 555 | Applied Theatre. | 3 |
Applied Theatre. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of the practices of theatre and drama in non-traditional settings, encompassing theatre practices and process drama that tackle areas of social and cultural policy such as public health, education, housing and social welfare. | ||
| EDEA 655 | Arts-Based Educational Research. | 3 |
Arts-Based Educational Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Forms of thinking and portraying that emanate from the arts: music, dance, drama, visual art, poetry, which provide an aesthetically-oriented lens from which to examine perspectives and premises that influence educational practice, and to develop processes that use one or more of the arts. | ||
| EDEC 518 | Arts-Based Approaches to Teaching and Learning . | 3 |
Arts-Based Approaches to Teaching and Learning . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of the role of arts in teaching and learning. Combining practical and theoretical arts based explorations using a variety of art forms. | ||
Language:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 627 | Critical Discourse Studies in Education. | 3 |
Critical Discourse Studies in Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examines critical theories of and approaches to studying discourse, with a focus on the roles of discourse as social and ideological practice in (re-)producing, questioning or challenging power relations, subject positions and established social orders. Emphasis is placed on theory and practice of discourse studies in educational contexts. | ||
| EDEC 629 | Writing: Theory, Research, and Practice. | 3 |
Writing: Theory, Research, and Practice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A review of theories and research on the writing process and the development of writing abilities. Implications for classroom practice at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Special attention to the design of writing assignments and to developing criteria for assessment and evaluation. | ||
| EDSL 628 | Plurilingualism&Translanguaging in Education and Research . | 3 |
PlurilingualismTranslanguaging in Education and Research . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Dynamic vision of language and the repertoire of users of two or more languages, including recent theories of translingualism, translanguaging, and plurilingualism. Examination of research and pedagogical implementation of these theories in diverse languages, classrooms and contexts. | ||
| EDSL 632 | Second Language Literacy Development. | 3 |
Second Language Literacy Development. Terms offered: Fall 2026 Theory and research related to the teaching and learning of second language literacy. The orientation is on reading and writing as a socio-cognitive activity. | ||
Cultural Production:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 602 | Foundations in Curriculum. | 3 |
Foundations in Curriculum. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course introduces the field of curriculum studies, including a historical approach to the discourses, debates and issues that have shaped it. Students will actively explore relationships between curriculum theory and professional as well as pedagogical practice. | ||
| EDEC 604 | Literacy and Learning Across Curriculum. | 3 |
Literacy and Learning Across Curriculum. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of the central role of language in learning across the curriculum: the processes by which pupils acquire information and understanding and the ways in which teaching must take account of these processes: learning through talk, learning by writing, learning from text. | ||
| EDEC 606 | Self-Study, Autoethnography, and Autobiographical Research . | 3 |
Self-Study, Autoethnography, and Autobiographical Research . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical and ethical engagement with the relationship between self and other through various auto/biographical approaches to research in education, such as self-study, autoethnography, currere, life writing, artistic practices, writing the self, and memory-work. Exploration of various forms of writing, representation, analysis and critical discussion | ||
| EDEC 612 | Digital Media and Learning. | 3 |
Digital Media and Learning. Terms offered: Summer 2026, Winter 2027 This course addresses emerging theories, pedagogies, and practices related to youth learning through digital media and online participatory cultures. Through direct engagement with multiple forms of digital media and youth, students will consider implications for teaching and learning within and beyond schools. | ||